The Segues continue to entertain 'Sing'-goers during breaks

Feb. 23, 2001

This is the final part in a 3-part Sing series

By KIMBERLEE BARBOUR

Reporter

Pretending to run on the Bear Trail, Clinton Pickens, a sophomore from Abilene, looks around the stage, takes off his shirt and begins running, only to show the audience that he is wearing a sports bra. Though not a normal sight on stage at 'All University Sing,' comic relief is welcomed during the five-hour performance.

In between the acts at Sing, the audience is entertained by the Segues, a Baylor comedy group established in 1999.

Pete Coulter, an Information Systems lecturer, Andrew Miller, Craig Wilson and Jason Jenkins, all students, are original members of the comedy group. New to the group this year are Steven Cooper, Pickens and Jaime Sieber.

Auditions were held and students had to perform an interpretive dance, give story ideas for skits, answer questions and do an improvisational skit. After the Segues are chosen, they brainstorm to narrow down the ideas they have for each skit a month before Sing begins.

From imitating President Robert B. Sloan Jr. and Dean of Chapel Todd Lake chalking campus walkways, to a choreographed dance act from the movie Center Stage -- the Segues try to appeal to anyone they think will be in the audience.

'We try to anticipate who will be in the audience and find an understanding of what they want out of us,'said Jeff Webdell, who joined the group during the spring of 2000. 'We try to relate to them when we are thinking about what we are going to do.'

One audience member enjoyed the skits and what they offered to the performance.

'They just look like they are having a great time on stage and really enjoy being up there,' said Kristen Dailey, a Dallas sophomore after the first performance. 'I would never be able to get onstage and do what they do. I would be scared to death.'

'The greatest part of performing is after we have run through it a couple of times with the audience,' said Coulter. 'We change what wasn't so funny from the first to the second weekend.'

Though no members of the Segues are currently studying theater, they all enjoy performing and making people laugh, Webdell said.

'Performing is just something that I enjoy and it comes naturally. It is an avenue that I can express myself in, something that I feel comfortable doing because I was always the class clown.'

The Segues will be performing at the Texas Playhouse on 'Segue Night,' the weekend after Diadeloso. The performance will be full of skits, improvisations and a video.

Webdell said that they will use the performance from the Texas Playhouse as an audition tool when they go to New York in May.

I think that the goal of each person in the group is to just keep people laughing, Webdell said.